Loop control for toroidal coil winding machines



June 23, 1953 H. E. CRADDUCK LOOP CONTROL FOR TOROIDAL COIL WINDING MACHINES Filed Aug. 10. 1951 3 Sheets-Sheet l INVENTOR h. E. CRADDUCK June 23, 1953 H. E. CRADDUCK 2,643,067

LOOP CONTROL FOR TOROIDAL COIL WINDiNG MACHINES Filed Aug. 10, 1951 3 Sheets-Shee 2 FIG. 2

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7 17 mvelvmfl I7 H E. CRADDUCK AT YURNE Y June 23, 1953 H. E. CRADDUCK 2,643,067

L00? CONTROL FOR TOROIDAL COIL WINDING MACHINES Filed Aug. 10, 1951 3 Sheets-Shee 3 INVENTOR H E. CRADDUCK ATTORNB Patented June 23, 1953 LOOP CONTROL FOR TOBOIDAL COIL WINDING MACHINES Henry E. Cradduck, Amesbury, Mass., assignor to Western Electric Company, Incorporated, New York, N. Y., a corporation of New York Application August 10, 1951, Serial No. 241,346

I 7 Claims. This invention relates to toroidal coil winding machines and more particularly to apparatus for controlling the necessary loop in the wire during the operation cycles of toroidal coil winding machines.

In winding coils of wire on toroidal cores the supply of wire is placed on a winding ring or shuttle which travels at a constant rate about its axis through the core. The conventional wire guide travels on a track formed at one side of the shuttle pulling a length of wire from the shuttle as it travels away from the core to form the next convolution of the wire about the core. This length of wire is formed into a loop as the wire guide travels toward the core and unless the loop of wire is held taut and guided throughout its travel, the convolution formed. thereof may overlay previous convolutions on the core or it may be inaccurately positioned on the core where subsequent convolutlons are to be wound.

Furthermore, unless the wire in the loop is held taut, it may be jerked about the core resulting in breakage of the wire. The patents to A. J. Dowd, 2,367,489, and R. M. Conklin, 2,425,511, disclose steps which have been taken in the art to control the loop in toroidal coil winding machines. The structures in both of these patents employ stationary and movable pressure pads between which the wire in the loop must be drawn while advancing toward the core. These structures have eliminated various difliculties but they contain certain features we ich not suitable for winding finer wires, one being the frictional contact with the wire as it between the pressure pads, another being the presence of uncontrolled intervals while the loop is travelling toward the core.

An object of the present invention is to provide a wire guide in a toroidal coil winding machine which is simple in structure yet highly eilicicnt in controlling the wire loop and maintaining it taut throughout the formation of each convolution on a core.

With this and other objects in view, the invention comprises a wire guide a toroidal coil winding machine including a member to travel with the shuttle to remove the necessary length of wire for forming a convolution on a core and a trailing element movable relative to the memher to maintain the wire taut.

The conventional toroidal coil winding machine selected to illustrate the invention has an annular shuttle with a track on one side thereof to support the leading member of the wire guide so that it will travel with the shuttle or slide thereon under the control of the wire to remove a length of wire from the shuttle during each cycle thereof. In one embodiment of the inven tion the trailing element is arcuate in general contour to partially conform to the shuttle, pivoted at its leading end to the member and having a pin at its trailing end over which wire travels so that the element will be afiected by centrifugal force, holding the wire taut at all times but being drawn inwardly by the wire closely adjacent the shuttle as it travels through the toroidal core. In another embodiment of the invention a resilient element carried by the member maintains the wire taut at all times.

Other objects and advantages will be apparent from the following detailed description when con sidered in conjunction with the accompanying drawings wherein:

Fig. 1 is a side elevational view of a toroidal coil. winding machine embodying one species of the invention, illustrating the start of the winding of a convolution;

Fig. 2 is similar to Fig. 1, illustrating the position of the wire guide as it travels through the core;

Fig. 3 is a schematic illustration of various positions of the leading end of the wire guide relative to the core; and V Fig. 4 is a side elevational view of another species of the invention.

Referring now to the drawings, the toroidal coil winding machine selected to illustrate the invention includes the conventional shuttle or winding ring Ill constructed with a removable section (not shown) so that it may be positioned to travel through successive toroidal core i l and be supported with its teeth l2 interengaging drive gear I4 and idler gears #5. The core ii is supported by jaws l6 of the conventional type oi mechanism which will rock the core about center to distribute the oonvolutions of wire it uniformly about portions of the core. Prior to the winding operation the shuttle in is provided with a supply of the wire ll'.

The species of wire guide, shown in Figs. 1 and 2, include a slider indicated generally at 28 having spaced portions 2! and 22 connected by a resilient member 24. The portions 2! and have grooves in their inner surfaces to inter engage a track 23 formed on the side of the shuttle Ill. The grooves and track be of a dovetail contour to control the path of travel of the slider 20. The resilient member 2 provides sufiicient force to create frictional contact between the portions of the slider and the track,

urging the slider to travel with the shuttle yet permitting it to slide on the track under the control of the wire IT. The nose or leading end 25 of the portion 2| is grooved in the conventional manner so that it will remove lengths of wire from the shuttle and guide them about the core.

An arcuate element 28 is pivoted at 29 to the trailing end of the slider or the portion 22 theree of, the contour of the element bein such that it may partially conform to the shuttle while traw elling through the core. A pin 30 is mounted in the trailing end of the element and positioned so that the wire I! will travel over the pin at all times. Although the element 28 is capable of being affected by centrifugal force to hold the wire taut during the major portion of the opera-. tion of the winding machine, a resilient element 32 fixed at one end to the portion 22 of the slider and loop-ed at the other end 33 to engage a pin 34 of the element 28, urges the element outwardly during the slower startin an pin speeds of the shuttle.

Consid rin now the operat on .1 h s s e of wire guide during normal operation of the toroidal coil winding machine, let it be assumed that prior to starting the-machine, the leading end of the wire has been attached to the core in a conventional manner, extending from the shuttle about the pin and about the nose 25 of the portion 2| of the slider 28. The machine may then be started, driving the shuttle I 0 counterclockwise. During travel of the shuttle the slider will tend to move with it, under the control of wire l'l. By viewing Fig. 2 it will be observed that a convolution has been completed on the core and that a new length of wire is being withdrawn from the shuttle to form the next convolution on the core. Fig. 3 illustrates various positions of the nose of the guide while pulling the wire from the shuttle. During this interval of operation, the pull on the wire to remove it from the shuttle is sufficient to draw the element 28 inwardly, closely adjacent the shuttle so that it will travel through the core. This condition will persist until the full length of wire has been removed from the shuttle at which time the nose 25 of the slider will be at its maximum distance from the core and the element 28 will have travelled through the core. As the slider continues its travel toward the core, it no longer holds the wire taut and a loop necessarily forms in the wire as in the conventional machine. This loop will be under the control of the element 28 at all times due to the effect of centrifugal force on the element proportional to the speed of rotation of the shuttle to hold the wire taut. As an added precaution, the resilient element 32 assures outward movement of the element 28 about its pivot 29 to maintain the wire taut during the starting and stopping intervals of the shuttle. While the machine is operating at full speed, the element 28 affected by centrifugal force creates an outward pull on the loop, holding it taut and under complete control at all times during the complete formation of each convolution on the core, removing entirely any jerking action during the formation of the convolutions and minimizing the frictional resistance on the wire.

The species of the invention shown in Fig. 4 are the same in every detail to the species shown in Figs. 1 and 2 excepting the trailing element carried'by the slider and'like reference'numerals identify those identical features inall three figures. The element 48 inJF e- 4 is formed of resilient material with its leading end secured to the member 22 of the slider 20 at 49 and its trailing end supporting a guide pin 50 for the wire I! to travel over. The normal contour of the element is such that it will apply suitable force on the wire at all times to hold it taut. This species of the invention has proven very efficient in winding the finer wires on cores. The necessary force in the element is determined by the strength of the wire to be wound as the ele-- ment must be pulled toward the shuttle as the wire in the loop is wound on the core. Also the resilient element is affected by centrifugal force and this condition may be varied for winding heavier wires by increasing the width of the element or by adding a suitable mass thereto.

It is to, be understood that the above described arrangements are simply illustrative of the application of'the principles of the invention. Numerous other arrangements may be readily devised by those skilled the art which will embody the principles of the invention and fall within the spirit and scope thereof.

What is claimed is:

l. A wire guide in a toroidal coil winding machine having an annular shuttle, for wire to be wound on a toroidal core, driven at a constant speed through the core and having a track at one side thereof, the wire guide comprising a slider mounted on the track and having a groove for the wire at its leading end to remove successive lengths of Wire from the shuttle and guide them about the core, and an element swingably connected at its leading end to the slider and r having its trailing end formed to engage the lengths of wire, whereby the element will be urged to swing outwardly by centrifugal force to maintain the portions taut throughout the formation of the convolutions thereof about the core.

2. A wire guide in a toroidal coil winding machine having an annular shuttle, for wire to be wound on a toroidal core, driven at a constant speed through the core and having a track at one side thereof, the wire guide comprising a slider mounted on the track and having a groove for the wire at its leading end to remove successive lengths of wire from the shuttle and guide them about the core, and an arcuate element positioned to follow the slider, means to pivotally secure the leading end of the element to the trailing end of the slider whereby the element may swing outwardly by centrifugal force during rotation of the shuttle, and means disposed at the trailing end of the element to engage the wire and hold it taut.

3. A wire guide in a toroidal coil winding machine having an annular shuttle, for wire to be wound on a toroidal core, driven at a constant speed through the core and having a track at one side thereof, the wire guide comprising a slider mounted on the track and having a groove for the wire at its leading end to remove successive lengths of wire from the shuttle and guide them about the core, and an element swingably connected at its leading end to the slider and having its trailing end formed to engage the lengths of wire, whereby the element will be urged to swing outwardly by centrifugal force to maintain the portions taut throughout the formation of the convolutions thereof about the core and a resilient member carried by the slider to normally urge the element to swing outwardly.

4. A wire guide in a toroidal coil winding machine having an annular shuttle, for wire to be wound on a toroidal core, driven at a constant speed through the core and having a track at one side thereof, the wire guide comprising a slider mounted on the track and having a groove for the wire at its leading end to remove successive lengths of wire from the shuttle and guide them about the core, and an arcuate element having its leading end pivotally connected to the trailing end of the slider and its trailing end formed to engage the lengths of Wire whereby the element will swing outwardly by centrifugal force to hold the wire taut and will be swung inwardly by the wire to travel through the core closely adjacent the shuttle when each length of wire is wound on the core.

5. A wire guide in a toroidal coil winding machine having an annular shuttle, for wire to be wound on a toroidal core, driven at a constant speed through the core and having a track at one side thereof, the wire guide comprising a slider mounted on the track and having a groove for the wire at its leading end to remove successive lengths of wire from the shuttle and guide them about the core, and an arcuate element having its leading end pivotally connected to the trailing end of the slider and its trailing end formed to engage the lengths of wire whereby the element will swing outwardly by centrifugal force to hold the wire taut and will be swung inwardly by the wire to travel through the core closely adjacent the shuttle when each length of wire is wound on the core, and a spring to normally urge the element outwardly during slower starting and stopping rotary cycles of the shuttle.

6. A wire guide in a toroidal coil winding machine having an annular shuttle, for wire to be wound on a toroidal core, driven at a constant speed through the core and having a track at one side thereof, the wire guide comprising a slider mounted on the track and having a groove for the wire at its leading end to remove successive lengths of wire from the shuttle and guide them about the core, and an element having its leading end swingably connected to the slider and urged to swing outwardly during rotation of the shuttle, the trailing end of the element being formed to engage the lengths of wire to hold them taut.

7. A wire guide in a toroidal coil winding machine having an annular shuttle, for wire to be wound on a toroidal core, driven at a constant speed through the core and having a track at one side thereof, the wire guide comprising a slider mounted on the track and having a groove for the wire at its leading end to remove successive lengths of wire from the shuttle and guide them about the core, and a resilient element having its leading end connected to the slider and having a guide member for the wire supported by the trailing end thereof, the resilient element being adapted to be flexed inwardly by the wire to travel through the core and normally swingable outwardly by its inherent force assisted by centrifugal force to cause the guide member to engage the lengths of wire and hold them taut. 

